The Biggest Point Redemption I’ve Ever Seen

Redeeming points for experiences can be a pretty cool way to get unparalleled value for your points.  How much is a once-in-a-lifetime experience worth?  Well, that depends.  I redeemed a boatload of SPG Starpoints.  so my wife could enjoy a tennis lesson with Andre Agassi.  Hands down, it was the single best use of points I’ve ever had.  What’s that “worth” to me?  I can’t really say, other than my wife and I still talk about it 7 years later.  The autographed tennis ball and book are still on display in my office.

My wife and I also enjoyed a Billy Joel concert last year at Wrigley Field, courtesy of Starpoints.  Last year, one of my friends redeemed Marriott Rewards points to earn private strategy sessions for his fantasy football team with NFL guru Adam Schefter.

All of my experiences look positively cheap compared to the 1 million Starpoints the founder of Dan’s Deals spent to throw out the first pitch of the World Series in 2016.  That balance would come up just short of this latest experience redemption when you consider Starpoints transferred to the Marriott program at a ratio of 1:3.

I’ve seen some pretty big point and mile redemptions in my day.  I haven’t seen them all and I’m sure there’s a good chance I haven’t seen the biggest points redemption.  But, this latest story would seem to set a new record in my brain.  I wrote about a Marriott auction before the Super Bowl that was the greatest sleepover I could imagine.  Marriott built a hotel room for the Super Bowl so one lucky winner could sleep in a hotel room on the field in Atlanta the night before the Super Bowl.

Got 3 Million Marriott Rewards Points?

If you had 3 million Marriott Rewards points you still wouldn’t have won this once-in-a-lifetime auction.  That’s because the winner, Nick from Wisconsin won the experience for 3.25 million Marriott Rewards points.  That’s a staggering sum of points.  3.25 million Marriott Rewards points would allow you to stay at the Swan or Dolphin at Disney World for over two months.  Heck, if you were using the old SPG values at those properties, you could tack on another month.  Instead, Nick got one night.  But, it looks like one heck of a night.

Nick and a friend got to meet a bunch of truly great past and present NFL players, including JJ Watt, Aaron Rodgers and Jerry Rice.  They got to hang with Rich Eisen and Dak Prescott.  From the pictures, it looks like they had an awesome time.

The Final Two Pennies

3.25 million Marriott Rewards points.  Wow.  That’s a heck of a balance.  I’m always curious how folks accrue a big balance like that.  I have an awful lot of credit card spend for business on a monthly basis, but I’ve never been in the lofty area of 3 million Marriott Rewards point.  Kudos to Nick and his friend for what looked like an absolutely fantastic experience.  I’m jealous of both the Marriott Rewards balance and a chance to sleep at the Super Bowl!

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